Separable fastener



April 21, 1964 L MQR|N 3,129,478

SEPARABLE FASTENER Filed Feb. 2, 1962 P L Q l.

INVENTOR. LOU/5 H MOR/N HTTORNEY United States Patent O 3,129,478SEPARABLE FASTENER Louis H. Morin, Bronx, Nfl. (125 Beechwood Ave., NewRocheile, NX.) Filed Feb. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 170,647 1 Claim. (Cl. 24205.12)

This invention relates to separable fasteners employing stringers,wherein the scoops are ixed to one side surface only of the Stringertapes. More particularly, the invention deals with a fastener of thecharacter defined, wherein each Stringer tape includes an extended coverportion projecting beyond the coupling end portions of ythe scoops, sothat the projecting cover portion of both tapes will overlie and concealthe mounting end portions of the scoops of opposed stringers inproducing what I term a fully covered one-sided separable fastenerStringer.

Still more particularly, the invention deals with a separable fastener,wherein each scoop has upper and lower oifset portions adapted tointerlock with correspondingly offset portions of a companion Stringerin retaining the stringers against separation in one direction; whereas,said scoops include intertting male and female portions for retainingthe stringers against pull apart separation.

Further, the invention deals with a Stringer structure of the characterdescribed, wherein the tape is adhered to the inner mounted end of eachscoop of the Stringer.

The novel features of the invention will be best understood from thefollowing description, when taken together with the accompanyingdrawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosedand, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable referencecharacters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. 1 is a bracketed view, diagrammatically illustrating a plan view ofa single scoop on one Stringer tape of a fastener and a sectional planview, diagrammatically illustrating two scoops of a companion Stringerof the fastener in spaced relationship to but in coupling alinement withthe rst Stringer, the tape of the second named Stringer being indicated,in part, in dot-dash lines.

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing the scoops of thetwo Stringer tapes illustrated in FIG. l in coupled relationship withrespect to each other and omitting background showing.

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of FIG. l.

FIG. 4 is a plan view, generally similar to the righthand portion ofFIG. l, with the directional position of the scoop reversed showing amodified form of scoop Structure.

FIG. 5 is a Section on the line 5 5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view, generally similar to FIG. 2, but taken on the line 6 6of FIG. 4 and showing companion scoops coupled with the single scoop ofFIG. 4 and omitting background Showing; and

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view, similar to FIG. 3, showing amodiiied Scoop and Stringer structure.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, I have diagrammatically illustrated oneadaptation of my invention. At the right of FIG. l, I have Shown oneStringer tape 10, including a bead 11 and an extended cover portion 12,the tape including the normal mounting portion 13 extending inwardlybeyond the tape 11. It will be clear from a con- Sideration of FIG. 3 ofthe drawing that the bead 11 is arranged upon one surface only of Kthetape. At 14 I have shown one of a number of scoops iixed to the beadedportion 11 and the tape at both sides of the beaded portion. In otherwords, the mounting end por tion 15 of the scoop is arranged upon thebead 11 and the adjacent part of the side portion 13 of the tape;whereas, the coupling end portion 16 of the scoop extends beyond thebead, but is fixed to that part of the tape ICC projecting beyond thebead and it is preferred that the tape, where the'scoops are attachedthereto, has condensed iibers to prevent undesirable flow of the metalbeyond this portion. The condensed fibers mean bers which are tightlypacked due to the weaving or twisting of the strands of the tape orbead. Usually tapes and beads are made of woven material but it ispossible that they could be made by the packing of liber or the feltingthereof into the form and shape desired. Because the scoops Shown in theapplication may be made by injection molding, it is desirable to havethe bers of tape and bead closely packed so that the molten metal willnot ilow beyond the area adjacent to the scoop. This condensing isindicated by the heavier showing of the fabric strands at 17 in FIG. 3of the drawing. It is pointed out, at this time, that the material ofthe cast scoop extends into the interstices of the braid of the tape, aswith other devices of this type and kind, and also into the braid of thebead 11.

The coupling end portion has laterally offset upper and lower parts 18and 19, the lower part being adjacent and Secured to the tape. Each ofthese parts includes the conventional coupling head deiining the malecoupling portion, as at 20, 21, and the reduced neck or female couplingportion, as at 22 and 23. The offsetting of the upper and lower partsform, at sides of the coupling end portion 16, a downwardly facingshoulder 24 at one side of the part 18 and an upwardly facing shoulder25 on the opposed side of the lower part 19, as will clearly appear froma consideration of FIG. 1, taken with the section through the neckportion of the scoop at the right of FIG. 1 and Vshown in the section,FIG. 2.

At the left of FIG. 1 are shown two scoops 14 of the companion Stringerand, as the companion Stringer and the scoops on this Stringer aregenerally identical in construction, like references will be used, butprimed, in order to distinguish one Stringer from the other,particularly in the coupled relationship, as seen in FIG. 2 of thedrawing.

`In other words, 10' designates the tape of the lefthand Stringer ofFIG. l. which is indicated in dot-dash lines as it would appear abovethe two scoops shown in this figure.

However, the bead 11 is sectioned as appearing upon the face of the twoscoops, bearing in mind that the bead extends into each of the scoops,as will clearly appear from a consideration of FIG. 3 of the drawing. 12represents the extended cover portion and 13 represents the mountingportion of the tape, which extends beyond the mounting end portions 15'of the scoops. 16' represents the coupling end portions of these scoops;18', 19' represent the offset upper and lower parts of the scoops. Theseparts have male coupling portions 20', 21' and reduced neck or femalecoupling portions 22', 23'. The offsetting of the upper and lower partsform, at sides of the coupling end portion 16', a downwardly facingshoulder 24 at one side of the part 18 and an upwardly facing shoulder25 on the opposed Side of the lower part 19', as will clearly appearfrom a consideration of FIG. 1, taken with the section through the neckportion of the scoop at the right of FIG. l and Shown in the section,FIG. 2. It is here to be kept in mind that lefthand and righthandstringers are employed and, in considering FIG. 2, it will appear thatshoulders 24, 24'; 25, 25' engage each other in retaining the stringersagainst separation. These interengaging shoulders may be said tocomprise overlapped coupling portions of the scoops. It is also pointedout that the illustrations in FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrammatic from thestandpoint that the tapers employed on the upper and lower portions 18,19; 18', 19 are not illustrated in FIG. 1 and this is done to simplifythe illustrations in FIG. 1. This tapering of the walls provides freeilexibility of coupled scoops one with respect to the other. While inthe enlarged View, the shoulder portions are shown snugly engaged inFIG. 2, actually, there are slight clearances between engaged scoops, asis the common practice in other devices of this type and kind.

When the two stringers are coupled together, it will clearly appear,from a consideration of FIG. l of the drawing, that the extended coverportion 12 will cover the mounting end portion 15 of the scoops of thelefthand Stringer of FIG. l; whereas, the extended cover portion 12 willcover the mounting end portion 15 of the scoops of the righthandStringer. In other words, the portions 12, 12 extend beyond the couplingend portions of the scoop a distance equal to the length of the mountingend portions 15', 15, respectively. In view of utilizing the extendedcover portions 12, 12', it will be apparent that specially designedsliders will be required in coupling and uncoupling the stringers,illustrated, in part, in FIG. l and a slider of this type and kind formsthe subject matter of a companion application filed of equal dateherewith.

Now, turning to FIGS. 4, and 6 of the drawing, here is shown a modiiiedform of scoop structure and 26 represents a tape, similar to the tape10, and 26 represents a tape, similar to the tape In order to simplifythe description in pointing out the difference in the two scoopstructures, 27, as seen in FIG. 6, will be a section through the neckportion of the scoop shown in FIG. 4, in other words, the femalecoupling portion of the scoop; whereas, 28 represents the sectionthrough the male coupling portions of the scoops of the companionStringer, the male coupling portion of the scoop shown in FIG. 4 beingillustrated at 28. The tape 26, as seen in FIG. 4, has the ,extendedcover portion 29, similar to the extended portion 12 of FIG. l and thetape 26 will have a similar portion. The scoops of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 maybe generally described as dart-shaped in form throughout the length ofthe male and female coupling portions of the scoops. In other words,upper and lower portions are offset with respect to each other toprovide outwardly contracted center portions, as at 30, 30', andcorrespondingly formed recessed portions 31, 31', which intertit onewith respect to the other, as clearly seen in FIG. 6 of the drawing, therecesses 31, 31' being shallower to provide clearance between engagedscoops for free flexibility, as will clearly appear from a considerationof FIG. 6 of the drawing. It will be apparent that the portions 3i), 30operating in conjunction with the recessed portions 31, 31' formoverlapped coupling portions. The mounting end portion 32 of the scoopshown in FIG. 4 will have its parallel beveled surfaces 33, 34, noteFIG. 5, extend continuously onto the surface of the tape 29, as seen indotted lines at 33', 34' and this will also be true of the scoops of thecompanion Stringer. In other words, with the scoops shown in FIGS. 4 to6, inclusive, the interfitting portions 30, 31; 30', 31 accomplish thesame interlocking engagement as lill accomplished by the interengagedshoulders, as with the construction shown in FIGS. l to 3, inclusive.The heads and necks of the scoops forming the male and female couplingportions are otherwise the same.

In FIG. 7 of the drawing, I have shown a modification which would beapplicable to the structure of both scoops previously referred to butwhich is applied to the scoop structure as seen in FIGS. l to 3,inclusive. In FIG. 7, 35 represents a scoop, similar to the scoop shownin FIGS. l and 3, 36 represents the tape and 37 represents the bead towhich the scoop 35 is attached and, instead of extending the tape indirect alinement, part of the coupling end portion of the tape, as at38, is secured to the end Wall 35 of the scoop 35 and, then, laterallyfrom the exposed surface of the scoop, as indicated at 39, whichrepresents the side edge portion of the tape utilized in fixing thestringers to a suitable support. With this type of construction, theslider will have its anged sides operating upon the portion 38 of thetape, rather than directly upon the scoops fixed to the Stringer tape.Fixing the portion 33 of the stringer tape to the end Wall 3S of thescoop 35 is accomplished in the attachment of the scoop 35 to the tape,in other words, the material of the .scoop 35 at the surface 35 willextend into the interstices of the braid of 3S in fixing 38 to thescoop.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

A separable fastener of the character defined comprising a pair ofstringers, each Stringer having a bead on one surface of the tapethereof, scoops secured to said head and said surface of the tape inspaced relationship longitudinally of the Stringer, each scoop includinga mounting end portion engaging the bead of the Stringer to which it isattached, a coupling end portion projecting in a direction parallel tothe plane of the tape beyond said bead and comprising male and femalecoupling portions, means permitting said stringers to engage anddisengage each other only when moving in a plane parallel to the planeof the tape of said stringer and the tape of each -stringer including aportion projecting beyond the coupling end of the scoop sufficiently tocover the scoop of a companion stringer when the stringers are coupledtogether, said projetcing cover portion of the tape lying in the planeof the tape to which the scoops are attached.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,077,350 Sundbaclr Apr. 13, i937 2,325,332 Marinslry July 27, 1943FOREIGN PATENTS 832,390 France Sept. 26, 1938 309,534 Switzerland Nov.16, 1955

